Jakob the Liar [VHS] [1999]

Since Amazon have seen fit to lump together reviews of both versions of this story, two separate reviews for the films: just be sure which one you're ordering when you order.

JAKOB DER LUGNER

Jakob the Liar/Jakob der Lugner was the only East German film to be Oscar-nominated and, considering how neatly it falls into the ever-popular tradition of East German films reminding the population of their sins during the war as a means to engender guilt and stifle criticism, it's surprising to learn how difficult it was to get made after the government detected a possibly subversive thread - you don't think the Nazis could be symbolising the communists, do you? It's a good film but not a great one, surprisingly visually unimaginative considering the strong qualities of Frank Beyer's other films and only really starting to hit home in the last half hour. Still, it's hard to dislike a film that begins with the caption `The story of Jakob the Liar is not true. Honest. Or perhaps it is.'

Armin Mueller-Stahl also featured in the Robin Williams remake, and its interesting to see note the way his stock-in-trade changed from slightly dense working class to his respectable and likeable grandpa schtick after the crossing the border.

JACOB THE LIAR

Jakob the Liar/Jakob der Lugner was the only East German film to be Oscar-nominated, yet it was long-forgotten by the time this much-delayed Robin Williams remake finally made it to cinema screens. Indeed, many people thought it a ripoff of Life is Beautiful, despite being finished long before it's rival.

It's certainly isn't really deserving of the contempt poured on it when it was initially released in the wake of Roberto Begnini's surprise hit. The film certainly has better design and resources than the original, but the tone is a constant problem. It's not so much that the comedy is highlighted at the expense of its Warsaw Ghetto background, more that the comedy doesn't work because it seems overplayed - like the performances, it's always a little too big to convince. On the plus side, it goes to a few darker places than the original, but loses all its Brownie points with a hideous Hollywood ending that may just be another lie but just seems like the wrong lie.

Armin Mueller-Stahl features in both the original East German version and this remake, and its interesting to see note the way his stock-in-trade changed from slightly dense working class to his respectable and likeable grandpa schtick after the crossing the border.

Jakob the Liar stars Robin Williams and while I appreciate, that Williams is not necessarily always the first name that springs to mind when casting a film of this grim subject matter, I do think he played a great part. Williams has branched out in the past with such films as Good Will Hunting and Dead Poets Society, doing a fine job in both instances, but you can still tend to make a prejudgment that this film is out of his range.
With a movie such as this, in which a serious topic is treated with a lighter touch, I cannot think of a man better suited to the job. Williams has a great ability to be light-hearted with his words and display such intense emotion in his face.
I have read several other reviews of this film and they have accused Jakob the Liar of trivialising the holocaust, I disagree, I think the film really put across how horrible it was but really stuck to the opening message of the film, that being that in such tragic times you must really hold onto the small things in life such as jokes, hence the metaphorical despair knob being turned down, just a fraction.
I suppose when there is so little in life to be happy about you have got to just make it up, even at the "real" end of this film when everybody's fate is sealed, the fantasy ending just makes you feel a little better about it all and is that so bad?
The only character in this semi large cast that I found myself caring about is jakob, although the film is trying to make you empathise with secondry characters it never really gets there. The film could also do with a few snips in my opinion the pacing did seem to be a little slow.
Not the greatest dramatic Williams film by a long shot but still worth a look if you are a fan like me.

DVD didn't work. Advised seller, who wanted a whole load of reference information, before they would communicate with me. Just wonder how many copies of "Jakob the Liar" they sell in a week, to need so much ref info. The disc was cheap, in the end I couldn't be bothered to persue a refund or exchange, the postage would have cost more than the DVD. Won't buy from them again.